A Summer Palace, An English Garden and More Old Town

Rita went out early this morning to do a very German thing, go the local bakery to purchase our fresh croissants and buns for breakfast.  We would need a hearty breakfast as we will be doing a lot of exploring and walking today.  First stop was a trolley ride to Nymphenburg Castle, the summer residence of the Whittelsbach family, the rulers of Bavaria for over 700 years.  The original castle was completed in 1674 with other pavilions added by later Electors (Kings).  The Castle is under renovations and is far from being fully restored but it was very informative to see parts of the castle that had yet to be renovated and to comprehend what a huge amount of time and talent is required to put these historic properties back to their original condition.

We walked to the trolley station to catch a ride back to Old Town to explore the 1,400 acre Englischer Garten (English Garden), a wonderful park that was created in 1789.  The name refers to the style of informal landscape gardening which was popular in Britain in the mid 18th century. Rita and I spent a good 3 hours walking through the parks trails thoroughly enjoying the green space, man-made lake and small creeks.  As it was such a lovely warm and sunny afternoon we continued our walkabout into Old Town to explore more of it's historical sights before ending up at a small Italian restaurant and enjoying a wonderful meal.

The original Nymphenburg Castle is in the centre and was completed in 1674.  The many outer buildings were added by later rulers  

The castle is still being refurbished but the baroque Stone Hall has been brought back to it's 17th century guilded brilliance

Looking at the back of the Nymphenburg Castle which overlooks its English style gardens

The appearance of the park has mostly remained unchanged since 1803.  At the start of our walk through the English Garden we watched a cyclist stop and caually take off all his clothes to bask in the sunshine.  Apparently this is quite a common occurrence in the summer months here. 

 

Rita on one of the many bridges that crossover fast flowing creeks and streams throughout the park

The English Garden, like Stanley Park is also overrun with local geese that do not leave, quickly multiply and poop all over the grounds.  However, as with Stanley Park, they do not deter you from enjoying the beauty of the place

In the heart of the pedestrian zone in Old Town is St. Michael's, a Jesuit Church built in Renaissance style during the 16th century

The interior of St, Michael's Church with it's massive gold leaf High Alter. The Royal Crypt containing the remians of kings and princess of the Wittelsbach family is located in this Church  

 

The Hofbrauhaus, the world's most famous beer house was founded as a brewery in 1589

 

The interior of the Hofbrauhaus is massive and serves an estimated 4 million people a year.  It also goes down in history as the venue for the first Nazi demonstration held in 1920 

After all this touring we needed to quench our thirst and headed for the Old Town Market to have a beer at the worlds smallest pub where you line up to pick up your beer before sitting down at one of the long tables under the trees.  Very refreshing and oh so civilized